Escapement-actuating mechanism of typographical composing machines



March 9,1926. 1,575,823

T. DRAKE ESCAPEMENT ACTUATING MECHANISM OF TYPOGRAPHICAL COMPQSING MACHINES Filed Oct. 18, 1922 3 Shets-Sheet 1 March 9 1926. 1,575,823

T. DRAKE ESCAPEMENT ACTUATING MECHANISM OF TYPOGRAPHICAL COMPOSING MACHINES Filed Oct. 18, 1922 3 Sheets-Swat, 2

March 9 1926. 1,575,823

T. DRAKE ESCAPEMENT ACTUATING MECHANISM OF TYPOGRAPHICAL COMPOSING MACHINES Filed Oct. 18, 1922 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Mar. 9, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT orsics.

TOM DRAKE, OF ALTRIN'CHL'M, ENGLAND, lSIGNOR/TO LINQTY-PE :AN-D 'MACHINERY LIMITED, F LONDON, ENGLAND. r

ESCAPEMENT-ACT-UATING MECHANISM {OF TYIOG-RAPHICAL COMPOSING MACHINES.

Application filed October 18, 1922. Serial No. 595,259.

7 '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ToM DRAKE, a subject of the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and residing at Linotype and Machinery Works, Altrincham, in the county of Chester, England, ave invented new and useful Improve- .ients in the Escapement-Actuating Mechanism of Typog'raphical Composing Ma chines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the escapementa actuating mechanism of typographical coinposing machines such as those known commercially under the trade mark linotype and kindred machines, and more particularly it relates to thosemachines which are provided with a plurality of superposed magazines from a plurality of which,,matrices can be released for assemblage in one and the same line, without involving a shifting of the said magazines.

In certain machines of the just particularized construction, it has been proposed to employ a plurality of sets of escapementactuating devices in conjunction with a guide way for the matrices adjustable between the front ends of the magazines and a fixed assembler entrance, and the fact that, in such an arrangement, the matrices have to pass between theescapement' rods or strikers, imposes an undesirable limit .on the size of font which can be used, It has also been proposed to provide an assembler entrance and a single set of pivoted escapem'ent strikers, adjustable iconjointly relatively to the magazines and to the levers by which the strikers are operated under conditions which fail to ensure uniformity of action of the strikers on the respective eseapements of different magazines,

The object of the present invention is to provide in conjunction with a convenient form of adjustablefmatrix uide-way, a series of "escapement striker Eavers adjustable therewith and so arranged that a unifornrefl'ective strike on the respective wescapements will be obtained throughout the range of adjustment.

The invention will be hereinafter .described with reference to the accompanying drawin 's which illustrate one riconstruc tio al' Form of it, andi'n .wh ie1'1':;-

Figure- 1 is a front 612mm,

broken away,-of van assembler entrance with the present invention applied thereto;

Figure 2 is arighbhand side elevation of the same showing the front ends of the magazines with which itcooperates, and

Figure ,3 is a vertical section taken on a plane extending ,fore-and-aft of themachine, with the parts, shown in a position diflerent from that in which they are represented in Figures 1 and 2.

According :to the arrangement illus- .trated, the magazines '1, 2, 3, and 4, are ad- Yju'stable columnwise to bring either of the three pairs 1 and 2, 2 and 3, or 3 and i, into cor-operation with the assembler entrance and vescapement-actuating devices, which latter are capable of adjustment into operative relationship with either magazine of the selected pair.

.The assembler. entrance consists, as ordinarily, of an entrance plate 5iprovided with partitions-:6 forming guide-channels for the matrices -a'nd'brackets 7 8, between which is pivoted the glass front ,plateQ, the whole being carried, in known manner, by a hinged bracket 10 to admit of the assembler entrance being swung away from the front ends of the magazines. r p

According to I the construction illustrated,

the guide .way for the matrices between the magazine channels and the channels formed by the partitions '6, consists of a iso called bridge bar extending across the assembler entrance, to 'whichlare connected, in a manner hereinafter scribed, partition plates 12, 13, forming channels communicating with those formed by the above-mentioned partitions 6,, as well as esoapementflstrikers 14, the latter being located below. the said channels and entirely' clear of the paths of the matrices therethrough. The bridge bar 11 is sup ported by studs slots 18" in the brackets 7', 8, move1nent of these studs :Wlthln the slots permitting adji'i stment of the bridge 'bar into register with either of the magazines of a selected pa r. I j r The last-named. adjustment may be convenientlyetf'ected by a sliding rod 19 within reach ofthe operator atthe keyboard, tozone end of which is pivotedla lever arm 20 jam: on. ro'eles'tafts' whi h has else rm to fit asecond lever arm 15, 16Iateach end fitting in more particularly depivoted to one end of a link 23 whose other end is pivoted to a lever arm 24 fast to a rock shaft "25 supported in bearings in the brackets 7, "8. Near the respectively opposite ends of the shaft 25 there are secured lever'arms 26, each of which is connected by a link 27 to the respective stud 18 on the bridge bar 11. Consequently when shaft 25 is rocked through the lever and link mechanism just described, the bridge bar is adjusted relatively to the magazines. The sliding rod 19 is preferably guided in a slot 28 in a bracket 29 secured to the hinged bracket'10, and

locked in its terminal positions by notches 3O engaging with a locking piece 31 on the bracket 29. The last-named bracket also carries the bearing for the shaft 21, so that the bridge bar adjusting mechanism does not interfere with the swinging movement of the assembler entrance away from the magazines. To facilitate the operation of the sliding rod 19 there may be provided a spring tending to counterbalance the weight of the bridge bar 11 and other adjustable parts. In the constructional form illustrated a tension spring 32'is employed for this purpose, acting between the link 23 and a relatively stationary part of the assembler entrance.

The preferred method of connecting the plates 12, 13, with the bridge bar 11 is shown best in Figures 1 and 3. The upper plates 12 are provided with perforated lugs 33 which extend into grooves formed by similar perforated lugs on the bridge bar 11, and are held therein by a wire 35 passing through the perforations. The intermediate plates 13 are similarly connected to a transverse plate 36, lugs 37 on the intermediate plates passing through slots in plate 36, and the latter is pivotally attached, as indicated at 38, to the bridge bar 11. At the rear of the transverse plate 36 there is provided a second transverse plate 39 which is loosely anchored to the entrance plate 5 by means of studs 40, and which isformed with slots 41 penetrated by studs 42 riveted to the plate 36; plate 36 is thus permitted to. slide relatively to plate 39 and the latter is permitted a limited angular movement about the studs 40. To preserve the continuity of the channels throughout the range of the lastnamed movements, each plate 12, 13 has a side-piece 43 secured'to its lower'portion, forming a pocket for the reception of the upper end of the respective partition 'alate 13 or 6, thus constituting a telescopic connection between the plates.

For the purpose of accommodating the eseapement strikers 14, the bridge bar ll may be provided with a series of grooves 44, either cut out of the bridge bar itself or formed by a series of partition plates attached to it, within which the strikers are supported on a common fulcrum rod or wire 45 secured to the bridge bar or to the partition'plates, as the case may be. Each escapement striker is actuated by the respective key rod 46 through an intermediate bell-- crank lever- 47 which has a laterally-projecting stud'48 adapted to bear on the edge of the lower arm 49 of the striker 14, all the levers 47 being preferably mounted ona common fulcrum rod 50 and aecomn'iodated in grooves, similar to the grooves 44 above referred to, in a bracket 51 secured to the entrance plate 5.

It will now be understood that any adjustment of bridge bar 11 as above desribed, will. adjust the strikers 14 into a position to cooperate with the escapements of the selected magazine, i. e., in the constructional form illustrated, into a position to act on the respective plungers 52 by which the.es-

capements are directly actuated. This ad- 'ustment, however, necessarily involves a change in the relative positions of the studs 48 and the fulcrum 45 of the strikers 14, and hence a change of the ratio between the movement of the operative ends of the strikers and that of the studs 48. According to the present invention this change of ratio is compensated by extending rearwardly the lower arms 49 of the strikers 14, so that the stud contacting edges of the extended parts are inclined at'an angle less than the angle of inclination of the front ends of the magazines. As the fulcrum 45 moves in a direction parallel to the said front ends,

the strikers 14, being held by gravity in contact with the studs 48, are thus turned slightly about the fulcrum during adjustment from one magazine to the other, to a sufficient extent to ensure that the effective movement of the strikers against the plungers 52 shall be the same in the different positions irrespective of the actual extent of movement determined by the position of the fulcrum. This will be readily understood by a comparison of Figures 2 and 3, the operative end of the striker, in the position shown in Figure 2 being nearer to the respective plunger 52 than under the conditions illustrated in Figure 3 where the fected'by sliding the rod 19 to bring the respective notch 30 into engagement with the locking piece 31, whereupon the lever 13, instead of being and link mechanism moves the bridge bar 11 in the appropriate direction, which bar carries with it, and thereby effects the simultaneous adjustment of, the escapement strikers 1-1 and channel plates 12 and 13.

The constructional form of the devices, and the arrangement of magazines to which they are applied, as herein described and illustrated by way of example, may be variously modified within the scope of the invention, For instance, the transverse plate fulcrumed to vthe bridge bar 11, may be arranged to bear against a lip or groove thereon under the influence of a compression spring constantly tending to keep the plates 36 and 39 to the limitv permitted by the studs 42 and slots i1, and the form of the escapement strikers 14: may be varied according to the form of the escapements which they are to actuate.

Iaving described my invention, I declare that what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a typographical composing machine, the combination of a plurality of magazines each provided with a set of escapements, a set of striker-lever operating devices and a set of of striker levers adjustable relatively to said devices to operatively connect them with the escapements of one or other of the magazines, the shape of the striker levers being such as to compensate the variations of the ratio of movement between said devices and the operative ends of the strikers and maintain a uniform effective stroke of the said ends throughout the range of adjust ment.

2. In a typographical composing machine, the combination of a plurality of magazines each provided with a set of escapements, a set of striker-lever operating devices and a set of striker levers adjustable relatively to said devices to operatively connect them with the escapements of one or other of the mag azines, each striker lever having an edge inclined to the direction of adjustment and adapted to bear against the respective striker-lever operating device whereby the striker lever is given a movement of rotation about its pivot during its adjustment relatively to the operating device.

3. In a typographical composing machine, the combination of a plurality of magazines each provided with a set of escapements, a set of striker levers adjustable in a direction parallel to the front ends of the magazines and each having an edge inclined at an angle less than the angle of inclination of said front ends, and a set of non-adjustable devices each adapted to operate a respective striker lever by contact with said inclined edge.

1. In a typographical composing machine, the combination of a plurality of magazines each provided with a set of escapements, a

ends of the magazines,

matrix guide way comprising a bridge bar adjustable in a direction parallel tothe front a set of non-adjustable striker-operating levers, and a set of esc-apement striker levers mounted on and adjustable with the bridge bar each having an edge inclined at an angle less than the angle of inclination of the front endsof the mag azines and adapted to bear against the respective striker operating lever.

5. Incatyp'ographical composing machine, the combination with a plurality of magazines each provided with a set of escapements, a relatively stationary assembler entrance and a matrix guide way comprising a bridge bar adjustable in a direction parallel to the front ends of the magazines and two transverse relatively adjustable plates pivoted respectively'to the bridge bar and to the assembler entrance, of a set of escapement striker levers pivotally mounted on the bridge bar and adjustable therewith.

6. In a typographical composing machine, the combination with a plurality of magazines each provided with a set of escapements, a relatively stationary assembler entrance and a matrix guide way comprising a bridge bar ad ustable 1n a direction parallel to the front ends of the magazines,

and two transverse relatively adjustable plates pivoted respectively to-the bridge bar and to the assembler entrance, of a set of escapement striker levers pivotally mounted on the bridge bar each having an edge inclined to the direction of adjustment of the bridge bar and a set of levers each mounted on a stationary pivot and adapted to operate a respective striker lever by contact with the said edge.

7 In a typographical composing machine, the combination with a plurality of magazines each provided with a set of escapements, a relatively stationary assembler en-- trance and a matrix guide way comprising a bridge bar adjustable in a direction parallel to the front ends of the magazines, two transverse relatively adjustable plates pivoted respectively to the bridge bar and to the assembler entrance and two sets of telescopically connected partition plates carried respectively by the bridge bar and the transverse plate pivoted. to said. bar, of a set of escapement striker levers pivotally mounted on the bridge bar each having an edge inclined to the direction of adjustment of the bridge bar and a set of lovers each mounted on a stationary pivot and adapted to operate a respective striker lever by con tact with the said'edge.

8. In a typographical composing machine, the combination with a plurality of magazines each provided with a set'of escapements, and a relatively stationary assembler entrance, of a matrix 'uide wa adjustable between the front end s of sai magazines and the said entrance comprising a bridge bar, a set of escapement striker levers pivotally mounted on the bridge bar, a transverse plate pivotally connected at its upper edge to the bridge bar, a second transverse plate pivotally connected at its lower edge to the assembler entrance and slidably connected to the first transverse plate, a set of partition plates secured to the bridge bar, a set of partition plates connected to the first transverse plate and a telescopic connection between the partition plates of the respective sets. Y

9. In a typographical composing machine, the combination with a. plurality of magazines each provided with a set of escapements, and a relatively stationary assembler entrance, of a matrix guide way adjustable between the front ends of said magazines and the said entrance comprising a bridge bar, a set of escapement striker levers pivotally mounted on the bridge bar, a transverse plate pivotally connected at its upper edge to the bridge bar, a second transverse platepivotally connected at its lower edge to the assembler entrance and slidably connected to the first transverse plate, a set of partition plates secured to the bridge bar, a set of partition plates connected to the first transverse plate and a telescopic connection between the partition plates of the respective sets.

10. In a typographical composing machine, the combination of a plurality of magazines each provided with a set of escapements, a set of operating devices, and an intermediate set of escapement actuatinglevers mounted upon a pivotal axis which is adjustable relatively to the operating devices to connect the pivoted levers with the escapements of one or another of the magazines, the said operating devices and escapement actuating levers being relatively constructed and arranged to maintain a uniform effective stroke of the latter in the different adjusted positions of their pivotal axis.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature hereto.

TOM DRAKE. 

